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ACLU Stops Graduation Prayers

Graduation prayer axed at Shelby County High
PRINCIPAL CITES COMPLAINT FROM STUDENT, CIVIL LIBERTIES ORGANIZATION
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SHELBYVILLE – The principal of Shelby County High School said the school will not have formal prayer at graduation exercises next month after receiving a complaint from a student and the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky.

Principal Gary Kidwell met Monday with the Board of Education and a lawyer as residents held a prayer vigil outside. Tuesday, Kidwell said the school will break from the tradition of student-led invocations and benedictions at graduation June 2.

The school “will be compliant with the law and also provide a respectful and dignified program for all students,” he said.

Traditional prayers at a school banquet and an awards ceremony also will not be held, he said.

Last week, a court ordered a Russell County High School student who had been designated to pray at graduation not to do so. Students rose on their own and recited the Lord’s Prayer during the principal’s remarks. The student who had been designated to lead the prayer included religious messages in her remarks to graduates.

Arshiya Saiyed, 17, who is Muslim, identified herself Tuesday as the Shelby County student who filed the ACLU complaint. She said other students share her view, a contention echoed by Kidwell.

Arshiya said she understands that student speakers at Shelby County also might include a prayer in their remarks, but she hopes they will respect her objections to the formal prayer.

“If they choose to pray … we hope it’s a respectful prayer” for a religiously diverse audience, said Arshiya, who plans to study international relations and political science at Centre College and then attend law school.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that student-led prayers at high school football games and clergy-led prayers at high school graduations are unconstitutional.

The Liberty Counsel, a Florida law firm representing the student who spoke at Russell County’s graduation, argues that if students elect a peer to give a message, without specifying that it be a prayer, that student has a right to pray.

3 Responses to ACLU Stops Graduation Prayers

I wonder how “religiously diverse” prayers are allowed in Dar ul-Islam. With all due espect to the Muslim comunity, but I am often amazed in how democratic Muslims are in the West, but very little democratic in their own lands. (Sounds like Darwinian mentality).

Of course, the Anti Christian Lawyers Unit is more than happy to help any belief system, EXCEPT Christianity. One ACLU director even said that school praying kids have the same mentality has 9-11 terrorrists.

ACLU is nothing but pork anymore. They have lost their usefulness so they will go after any cases which will bring in the dough.(even something as silly as christmas trees) IIRC your tax dollars support any ACLU case involved with religion so these cases are too good to pass up. To be fair ACLU does a time support a christian cause also. There just not enough real cases to go around anymore so they have top go after silly stuff.

The ACLU has been swindling everybody for decades, and getting away with millions of taxpayer dollars when its bully tactics manage to force judgments in its favor. Here is what the First Amendment of the US Constitution actually says:

Ã¢â‚¬Å“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.Ã¢â‚¬Â

Somebody please explain how a cross on a monument becomes CONGRESS making a law establishing a religion;

How students at prayer become CONGRESS making a law establishing a religion;

How the name of a place, such as Las Cruces or Corpus Christi, becomes CONGRESS making a law establishing a religion;

How the teaching of Intelligent Design Theory becomes CONGRESS making a law establishing a religion.

If anyone has been committing unconstitutional acts all these years, it is the ACLU in its anti-First Amendment legal suits. I have never understood why the ACLUÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s blatantly unconstitutional maneuvers have not been more vigorously challenged over their total lack of merit vis-a-vis the First Amendment.